Author: Bilal

Podcasts are becoming big business — in part because of how well they can attract and keep audiences at a time when so many other media formats are finding it hard to pin down that elusive metric of engagement. Now a podcast host who has built out a popular series around the world of startup investing is leveraging that … Continue reading From Twenty Minute VC to 20VC, Harry Stebbings launches a micro VC off the back of his popular podcast Continue Reading →

SpaceX’s  Crew Dragon capsule has been docked at the International Space Station (ISS) since its historic first crewed launch in May, but it’s getting ready to make its return trip. NASA had planned to keep the spacecraft and astronauts at ISS for a while, depending on station mission needs, but they’re zeroing in on the exact … Continue reading SpaceX and NASA targeting August 1 for Crew Dragon return trip with astronauts on board Continue Reading →

Call it what you will — startup bootcamp, founders’ masterclass or the mother of all how-to events — we’re just days away from TC Early Stage 2020. But you don’t have to wait another minute to start making essential connections. CrunchMatch, our AI-powered networking platform, is now open for business. Wait up. You don’t have a … Continue reading Ready, set, network! CrunchMatch is now open for Early Stage 2020 Continue Reading →

Your product may solve problems. It may cost less and do more. It may very well change the world. But unless you can get the word out, ensuring the right group of people know about it and are willing to use it, pay for it and evangelize it, then your hard work is in vain. … Continue reading Marketing, PR and brand building, oh my! TechCrunch Early Stage goes down July 21 and 22 Continue Reading →

Even the world’s second largest smartphone market isn’t immune to COVID-19. Smartphone shipments in India fell 48% in the second quarter compared with the same period a year ago, the most drastic drop one of the rare growing markets has seen in a decade, research firm Canalys reported Friday evening. About 17.3 million smartphone units … Continue reading India smartphone shipments slashed in half in Q2 2020 Continue Reading →

In the wake of yesterday’s landmark ruling by Europe’s top court — striking down a flagship transatlantic data transfer framework called Privacy Shield, and cranking up the legal uncertainty around processing EU citizens’ data in the U.S. in the process — Europe’s lead data protection regulator has fired its own warning shot at the region’s data protection … Continue reading Legal clouds gather over US cloud services, after CJEU ruling Continue Reading →

FedEx has flirted with robotic technologies before, most notably in the case of Roxo. The delivery robot made its debut in New York City last year, only to get the boot from Mayor Bill de Blasio. These days, however, the prospect of increased automation seems all the more pressing, as COVID-19 has left many reconsidering the human … Continue reading FedEx is utilizing robotic arms to sort packages at a Memphis facility Continue Reading →

AutoX,  the autonomous vehicle startup backed by Alibaba, has been granted a permit in California to begin driverless testing on public roads in a limited area in San Jose. The permit will allow AutoX to test its autonomous vehicles without a human safety driver behind the wheel. This is the third company to receive a driverless testing permit. Waymo  and … Continue reading Autonomous vehicle startup AutoX lands driverless testing permit in California Continue Reading →

Kittu Kolluri  — who in late 2016 stepped down as a general partner with NEA after 11 years with the investing giant to form the much smaller, much earlier-stage outfit Neotribe — has closed on $216 million for the outfit’s second fund, a sizable jump up from its $130 million debut fund. (Kolluri and his team separately kicked in enough … Continue reading Veteran VC Kittu Kolluri has $216 million more to invest through his new firm, Neotribe Continue Reading →

From a partnership with the Russian company 3D Bioprinting Solutions to make chicken meat replacement using plant material and lab-cultured chicken cells to an expansion of its Beyond Fried Chicken pilots to Southern California, KFC is aggressively pushing forward with its experiments around the future of food. In Russia, that means providing 3D Bioprinting with breading and spices to see if … Continue reading From bioprinting lab-grown meat in Russia to Beyond Meat in the US, KFC is embracing the future of food Continue Reading →